Mook vs Tourney Picks

Are you filling out a bracket?
Who do you have in the Final Four?

Whether you like College Basketball or not, you may be filling out a bracket. In fact, you may not even like sports or know what the bracket is for, but you're still filling one out.

i asked my wife if she would fill one out and she said "But i don't know any of the teams"

It doesn't matter really. In fact, it is often the person who has no clue who beats the person who studies and studies the bracket.

Some people- like my friend Ben- picks team based on the mascot, who he thinks would win if they got into a fight.

One year, i had a friend pick based on the most Christian (though not necessarily Christian schools). She had Temple vs Holy Cross in the Final. And she had the Duke Blue devils (#1 overall) losing in the first round...

Others may pick based on favorite colors... or maybe if they have friends who went to a school (i've done that for tie-breakers).

And of course, they give you the seedings, and if you just pick the favorite every time, you'll do pretty well... but you won't get them all right.

And somtimes, those people win it all.


But picking your bracket isn't just luck. There is some skill.
So, here are some tips

First of all the easiest/best way is to watch every game and study everything... but who has time to do that. Not even the so-called "Experts" do- which is why they get so much wrong... but the more exposure you have, the better...  Still, this is just for fun... but the most fun is winning it all.

i have been pretty good at picking bracktes, though sometimes my loyalties get me in trouble.
So, here are my tips

1. Pick your Final Four first.
     You get more points in further rounds. So, you want to be too daring with the teams at the end. Picking upsets will get you some bragging rights at the beginning, but is quite risky when you're risking big points at the end

2. Think thru your top teams first, list them all out... then look at the match-ups. Match-ups of course are important. A team could beat 63 teams in tourney, but the wrong match-up and they're done.

Ranking the teams

1. Coaching/programs
    College sports is more about the coach than the players. That's why the players aren't paid and the coaches get paid millions. There are just some coaches that always win in the tourney and others who just can't coach in the tournament. Some will eventually get their break, but...
for the record, some of the best include
    a. Tom Izzo
    b. Rick Pitino
    c. Tubby Smith (not in this year)
    d. Rick Majerus (not in this year)
    others: Steve Fisher (even if folks say he can't coach), Matt Painter, Steve Lavin... and though i hate to admit it... Coach K

2. A Super-star to carry a team
   Miles Simon, Christian Laetnner, Carmelo, John Wallace, Bryce Drew, Stephen Curry, Magic, Larry Bird... these are the legends...
   This year? Jimmer... Kemba... Sullinger

3. Guard-play... especially the point guard
   You got to avoid turn-overs... you will face pressure... You need someone who can handle the ball and distribute the ball... and who can defend the ball

3b. Shooters
    Since your best shooters are normally your guards, and you good guard play means shooting well, i'll put this as 3b... b/c other people need to shoot well too. You need to be able to hit shots- not just dunks and drives. And 3 point shooting comes up BIG in the tourney. Teams tend to live & die by the 3... look for good 3-pt shooting teams to advance to the sweet 16... then run dry

4. Team Defense
    Offense gets all the play, but defense wins championships... always, in all sports

5. Senior Leadership
    You don't get much of this anymore, but it is still vital. Senior tend to be more hungry, but also more composed. They hit their free-throws, they cover their assignments, they block out, they don't turn the ball over or make stupid mistakes... and they lead!


6. Midwest is Best
    i am biased... but teams from the midwest tend to be more about the fundamental and more tough... which means, better shooters, better defense, better team play


7. Record... especially in the last 3 weeks
   It doesn't really matter if you play an easy schedule, you still have to win. And winning a lot produces a culture of winning. You get used to winning. And if a team has built up some momentum, all the better


Bracket tips

1. a 12 seed always beats a 5 seed. Always! It has happened 23 out of 26 years. That is crazy.
2. 7/10 seeds will likely split... and one or two of those teams will beat the #2 seed
3. 8/9 is a draw. There will be some really good teams there... and really could be one of the top 12 teams, but beating a #1 is hard
4. At least one 10 seed or lower will make it to the sweet 16... usually it seems like a 12 vs 13 happens in rd 2
5. Make a couple set of picks..


i will be making a couple different set of picks... but
here is the one i'll share here

Final Four
1. Purdue
2. Ohio St
3. Pit
4. UConn
Elite 8
5. L'ville
6. MSU
7. Duke
8. Washington
Sweet 16
9. BYU
10. SanDiego State
11. Kansas
12. Notre Dame
13. Xavier
14. Arizona
15. K-St
16. Princeton


i'm least sure about Arizona & K-st - they're both 5 seeds... i could see Wisconsin, Belmont or K-St... and maybe even Utah St getting that spot in the Southwest... they're all good & all have their faults...

i don't like Princeton that much (though i do think Harvard had a case for an at-large bid). And i don't really want to put Notre Dame in there( but that is more of a i don't like Notre Dame thing).

While people say the Southwest is the easiest bracket, i think it is one of the most difficult. i already talked about the 4/5/12/13 seeds. but...
i really like St Johns, but i like BYU better. i really like BYU, but i like MSU better-slightly. i would have been content with any of those 3 in my Elite 8

i actually also would have picked Butler or Old Dominion for the Sweet 16... but they play each other, then Pit... yes, in that bracket, i rate them like this (Overall): Pit (3), MSU(5), BYU (6), Butler (11), St Johns (12), Old Dominion (14), Wisc (15), K-St (17), Belmont (20)... oh and Florida, the #2 seed (my 32).

Mook vs the Bracktes

As a Purdue fan, I’m pretty happy with our seeding.

It is a pretty tough bracket for Kansas… some real good teams in there… but I’m not afraid of any of them as a Purdue fan.

As a fan of upsets, I’m a lil upset. I don’t like Belmont drawing Wisconsin… I don’t like Butler & Old Dominion playing in the 1^st round or the fact they and George Mason got the hated 8/9 seeds.

MSU as a ten seed who’d have to play an over-seeded Florida looks poised to make another run…

·      Colorado has a legitimate gripe- if UAB, Clemson, Georgia get in

·      I don’t know how Georgia is a ten seed and Bama is not in at all

·      Though I wouldn’t take any of those teams…

·      If I were picking

o   OUT: Georgia, Clemson, UAB, USC

o   IN: Milwaukee, Harvard, Valpo, St Mary’s

o   My First Four Out: Colorado, CSU, Missouri St, Clev St

·      Toughest games for me to pick

o   Wisc vs Belmont

§  I like Wisc as a sweet 16, but Belmont was my first round upset pick

§  K-st/Utah St vs Wisc/Belmont… this is what makes the pick so hard… I could see any of those 4 teams in the sweet 16… well, I could see the 12 & 13 teams both pulling upsets in rd 1… and if they’re playing in rd 2, one of those teams will make it…

o   BYU vs St Johns, BYU/St Johns vs MSU

§  MSU is getting to the sweet 16, can they make it all the way to 8…

§  I like Steve Lavin & Gene Keady to make it to the sweet 16…

§  but this whole year I have been touting Jimmer to carry his team… and while losing Davies hurts, I still want to pick them to the sweet 16 at least

§  I think St John’s got screwed, they should have been a 5 seed at least

o   L’ville vs Kansas (Rd 3)

§  I don’t think Kansas will lose so quickly this year, there is still a lot of talent there, I don’t have them in the final four, but I think they’ll be motivated… but I always pick Pitino’s teams to get to the Elite 8 or Final Four

o   SD St vs UConn (Rd 3)

§  I want to pick Steve Fisher and SD st to the final 8, and I want to pick UConn to the Final 8… one is going to lose… and the other will make the Final Four

·      Teams most screwed

o   8/9 seeds suck. I would rather be a 10 or 11 or 12

§  Butler: first they play Old Dominion, then they’d play Pit

§  George Mason: they win and have to play Ohio St

§  Old Dominion: see Butler

§  Michigan/Tenn  too

o   St Johns: a 6 seed? Playing Gonzaga first… then BYU

o   Texas as a 4 seed: I don’t like Texas, but they deserved better

·      Generous seedings

o   Florida as a 2, while Kentucky is a 4… I thought they’d both be 3’s… with Kentucky getting the edge

o   WV as a 5, while St johns is a 6

o   Penn St as a ten… I thought they were a bubble team

o   Georgia is a ten, I didn’t think they deserved to be in at all!

·      Interesting match-ups

o   Illinois could play UNLV, then Kansas… coached by former coach Lon Kruger and the guy who took over former coach Bill Self

o   Memphis is coached by former Arizona coach

o   Kentucky vs Princeton matches fast vs slow

o   Temple and Penn st play for pride of Pennsylvania

o   Notre Dame vs Purdue in rd 3 a rivalry in Indiana, that Notre Dame has been avoiding

o   Louisville vs Kansas, 2 top programs (rd 3)

·      If it were me I’d create the bracket with match-ups in mind

·      1^st rd games I’m most interested in

o   Purdue vs St Peters (of course)

o   Kentucky vs Princeton

o   Butler vs old Dominion

o   St Johns vs Gonzaga

o   UCLA vs MSU

o   Texas vs Oakland

o   Syracuse vs ISU

o   Richmond vs Vandy

o   Michigan vs Tenn

o   Wisc vs Belmont

o   Arizona vs Memphis

i'll be back with predictions tomorrow

Mook vs Selection Sunday

Get excited.

Today is Selection Sunday.

What is Selection Sunday?

Well, it should be a holiday. It should be marked in calendars.

It is mine.

Selection Sunday is the day the brackets are produced. It is the day when certain teams are selected to play in the NCAA tournament, also known as March Madness. And others are not.

It is a particulary fun day for teams on the Bubble and small schools.

The Bubble are teams that may or may not make the tourament. Usualy there are a good ten teams on the bubble with 4-5 making the tourney and 4-5 missing the tourney.

It can all be seen on CBS.

It is also the day seedings are finally revealed and match-ups are made.

We know certain teams will be in, what we don’t know is what they will be seeded. And though we have a good idea about some seedings, we still have no idea who will be placed in which region and what the match-ups will be….

It is a day that creates heart-aches and a day which creates head-aches… as we all try to pick our brackets.

I always have a list of teams I think should make it to the Final Four and Elite 8 and Sweet 16, well before the brackets are produced… but it is rare the seedings work out for me… L

It will be interesting to see what will happen today.

ISU and Butler are in because they won their conference championships… but where will they be seeded?

How about a team like Belmont?

Will anyone else from the Horizon get in?

Personally, I think

·      Valpo

·      Milwaukee

·      Virg Cm

·      Missouri St

·      St Mary’s

Should all get in

And teams like

·      Va Tech

·      Clemson

·      Georgia

·      Bama

·      Colorado

Should be left out

One reason people love the College Basketball Tourney is everyone gets a chance (unlike College Football).

But there is still a bias towards the top conferences and big schools.

Sometimes deservedly so.

But if teams play a good enough schedule, they will get seeded high (like BYU & SD st this season) but if not, they’ll still barely make it or be on the Bubble (like Utah St or Missouri St).

We’ll see what happens today.

Big East should dominate, B1G (BigTen) should get a number of teams too. I don’t think the ACC or SEC should get many, but they probably will. The Colonial (Old Dominion, George Mason, Virg Commonwealth) and Horizon (Butler, Milwaukee, Valpo, Clev St) should get more, but not get many. Atlantic10 at points moved into the upper echelon, but likely will be stuck with 3 seeds, but probably doesn’t deserve more either.

I’m hoping for brackets that can produce a Final Four of

1.     Purdue

2.     Ohio St

3.     Pit

4.     BYU or Louisville

And an Elite 8 of

5.     BYU/L’ville

6.     MSU

7.     UConn

8.     SD St

And a sweet 16 that could include

a bunch of small schools like Butler, OD, GM, Zaga, Richmond, ISU, Belmont…

March Maddness has already been MADD

I turned on the last 3 minutes to see St Johns and Rutgers and saw a crazy finish with the worst officiating ever. I saw the last few seconds of UConn vs Pit, which ended with a shot at the buzzer by Kemba Walker. Then last night saw the last 4 minutes of Washington and Arizona, which ended in a barrage of 3-pointers by Washington to get them to over-time, then a 3pointer by Arizona to tie it with just a few seconds in OT… before Isaiah Thomas nailed a jumper as time expired to win… Yes, it was a crazy week! And we haven’t even started!

I can’t wait!

Mook vs MSU

Losing TWO straight to end the season is never a good way to start the tournament season. Especially, when they are to two subpar teams.

One and Done in the Big Ten Conference Championship, i hope that is not a sign of things to come for the Boilermakers.

Purdue has gone from a potential #1 seed to a potential #4 seed in a week.
Seriously.
How does that happen?
Well, you lose to one of the worst teams in the nation in Iowa. And you don't show up in the conference championships.
A win against Iowa and they are #4... they get to the championship game against Ohio st and they probably have the #1 seed after Notre Dame lost already.

Now?
Well, UConn has gone from a #5 seed to a potential #2 seed with wins over Georgetown, Pitt & Syracuse. The fact those games were close will make them seem even better.
The Big East is proving how good they are.
Meanwhile the ACC looks WEAK. 3 teams in may be generous. (Still they'll probably get 5).
BIG10? Well #2 &#3 lost, #1 barely won, and that Illinois team which was supposed to be good in the preseason looks more and more like an NIT team...but i still think the B1G is perhaps the toughest league...

So, instead of being #4... they may be a #4 seed. And the way teams have been playing this year i think a #13 seed will beat a #4 seed this year. (i think teams seed 8-13 are all pretty even).


The game may have shown more of how good Michigan State is than how bad Purdue is.
MSU is one of those teams i never count out come tourney time. And though they looked like a borderline bubble team, they look like they're definitely in now.
And that they could be a team to be reckoned with.

Don't let their record fool you.
Their losses include
1. UConn (by 3 on neutral court)
2. Duke (by 5 at Duke)
3. Syracuse (in NY)
4. Texas
5. @ Ohio st
6. 2 losses to Purdue
7. @ wisconsin (Where no one wins)
8. and 2 close losses to a Michigan team that looks like a tough tourney team too.

Kalin Lucas has been healing all season.
Korie Luscious was kicked off the team and they had to adjust.
And they are historically a team who does better in the tourney than the regular season.
They still have Lucas, Draymond Green & Durrel Summers... and let's not forget: Tom Izzo

Depending on match-ups i have them at least going to the Elite 8
(Purdue, Ohio st, BYU, Pit, L'ville, MSU, SD St, UConn, Butler, St Johns, Duke & Kansas are my top 12... followed by an A-10 team, a Colonial team, K-St, Wisconsin...)

Mook vs the Miami crybabies

"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games," ... "The world is better now because the Heat is losing." ~ Dwyane Wade

After their loss to the Bulls (Which was followed by a loss to the Blazers, giving them 5 straight losses before beating the Lakers last night), Coach Eric Spolestra admitted players were in the locker room crying.

Why he would say that I don’t know.

But Dwyane Wade’s quote confirms it anyway.

Hey look, you guys may not be the biggest jerks in the world. You were just three friends who wanted to play together and work together – and who could blame you for that?

But fans don’t like you.

You egged the nation against you afterwards.

And if you don’t like it now- too bad.

I feel bad for you… but I don’t.

The thing is, if you would have come out right away and said you wanted to play together, people would have loved it. They would have appreciated friends wanting to be together. Instead, you made the free agency period a circus. You led teams & fans on. And took video cameras with you.

You didn’t care about the fan. You showed no humility. You brought these things upon yourself.

If you lose this season, then everyone will forget. And then, after you win next season, everyone will love you again.

As for your team…

·      Who really cares about the regular season

·      3 players don’t make a team, and it is showing

·      Losing so many close games, can’t be a good sign

·      Maybe LeBron really can’t close games and is not a winner

As for crying…

·      Be a man

·      Cry in the playoffs, not the regular season

·      Cry because you win, not because you lose.

·      Is this really the worst thing in the world?

As Tom Hanks is infamously known for saying in "A League of their own" 

"Are you crying?... There's no crying in baseball!"

And it should be that in every sport

Do any of you wish you were playing in Chicago with D Rose & Jokiam Noah? Young, talented, winners… they look tough.

Knicks still need another player or two

Celtics still have to be the favorites

Orlando has the best big man, so they can’t be counted out.

And why does everyone forget about Atlanta? 3 on 3 they’d be about as tough to beat as the Heat. I’d take Joe Johnson, Josh Smith & Al Hoford

Man, why do I even care about the NBA?

Mook vs Derron Williams

It has been 2 weeks since the big trade and I haven’t had a chance to write about it.

When I saw the trade I couldn’t believe it.

It just came out of nowhere.

It was a big-time player… and it was the same package almost given up for Carmelo…

Smart move by Utah or crazy move

·      They jumped on the opportunity to build their future, they saw what ew Jersey was offering and seized it - SMART

·      They get 2 and maybe 3 lottery picks + a former all-star. That’s how you rebuild a team - SMART

·      I’m not too sold on Favors, and people are saying this next draft is weak… so it could be risky - CRAZY

·      They were still in the play-off hunt… and Derron Williams is a superstar who could take them pretty far – CRAZY

·      The current roster was good, really good even- but were they good enough to win it all? That’s the whole point isn’t it? Good enough to make the playoffs isn’t the goal - GOOD

·      They should have unloaded Kirlienko in the deal… Provako may have taken on the Russian, they need to unload his contract… and it could have been a good move for him too – Un Smart

Derron Williams is better than Carmelo

For New Jersey, they wanted a superstar and they got him.

But what now?

They gave up their future for one player. Who will they get for Derron Williams to pass to? He needs another player. Brook Lopez is a good center, but not the type of scorer/force you need to win.

Still, the NBA is a super-star league and Derron Williams is a superstar.

Now, that he is out of Utah, the world will see it

In my mind, it now goes

1.     Kevin Durrant

2.     LeBron

3.     Dwight Howard

4.     Derron Williams (tie)

5.     Chris Paul (tie)

6.     Derrick Rose (though he is this season’s MVP)

7.     Kobe

Followed by in some order…

Dwyane Wade a pretty good talent if he stays healthy

Blake Griffin amazing, but young

A’mare & Dirk are big guys who can score

Russel Westbrook & Rajon Rondo… young PG’s

Paul Pierce & KG… old vets in Boston

Steve Nash… 2-time mvp

Joe Johnsno & Josh Smith… underappreciated in Atlanta

K Love… double-double machine

Duncan & Ginobli… winners in San Antonio

Gasol & Oden… would be superstars anywhere else...

In other trades, i was surprised the Clippers would trade Baron Davis for Mo Williams... + they gave them a draft pick. Davis has had his problems, but he's great when he wants to be, and he seemed to be clicking with Blake... couldn't they get more from a high draft pick?

Mook vs Jim Tressel

Jim Tressel.

Sigh


You're supposed to be a man of God. A man of integrity.

There is no integrity in what you have expressed. There is no repentance, no admission of wrong.
And there is the issue of what you did.
You concealed truth. You did not honor your contract.
You were supposed to report this... and didn't.

"Tressel's contract, which pays him an estimated $3.5 million per season, requires that he report any -- the word "any" is underlined in the contract -- possible rules or legal infractions immediately."

 And when questioned, you said you were protecting the players. Really? How?

The truth is you thought you could get away with it.

And you did!

Crap.

What a lousy system the NCAA is.

After a week when BYU took a stand and kicked off a player for violating the honor code... Ohio st looked the other way.

Tressel seems like a stand-up guy.
And so, we don't want to lump in with Butch Davis or John Calipari. But he is a cheater.
His teams have been filled with cheaters.

But the NCAA likes that Ohio St makes money.

Jim Treseel won't miss the money he is fined.
The team won't miss him or the players suspended.

Ohio St, well, they just let Tressel and the players get away with it.

i guess if you win, it doesn't matter if you cheat or don't honor your contract.

Why can't he just admit he made a mistake?

for more
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6191585

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=6195223
From his character-based books to his conservative sweater vests, Tressel wanted us to believe that he's a straight shooter who follows the rules.
On Tuesday night, we learned Tressel isn't any different from a lot of coaches in college football. He's apparently more concerned about winning games and championships than following rules and doing things the right way.
In fact, Tressel might be even worse than other coaches who are corrupting college athletics. He won't admit he's wrong even after he has been caught.
Facing the biggest crisis of his career, Tressel never once apologized for knowingly breaking NCAA rules during a news conference on the Ohio State campus on Tuesday night. Worse, Tressel never owned up to not telling his bosses or NCAA investigators that he was aware that at least two of his players might have accepted improper benefits from the owner of a tattoo parlor in Columbus, Ohio.

When Tressel was asked if he was worried the scandal would tarnish his reputation, he said he's always been his biggest critic.
"I don't think less of myself at this moment," Tressel said.
How's that for looking in the mirror?